Daily Prelims Notes 4 July 2022
- July 4, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
4 July 2022
Table Of Contents
- How do weak currencies exacerbate imported inflation?
- High yielding currency and Currency carry trade
- E-invoicing and GSTN
- Is growing space tourism posing a risk to the climate?
- India’s patent law safeguards under fire
- Dimming the glow of firefly festivals in Maharashtra
- gharial (crocodiles)
- Lisbon Declaration
- NIA
- Ministry of Home Affairs effected changes in FCRA
- Why India should support antibiotics development
- Alluri Sitarama Raju
- Anthrax- the infectious disease found in Kerala
- Fossils
1. How do weak currencies exacerbate imported inflation?
Subject: Economy
Section: External Sector
Context:
The surge in the dollar has set Asian currencies on course for their worst quarter since 1997, creating a dilemma for central bankers- this would add to the pressure of the monetary policy tightening as weak currencies exacerbate imported inflation.
What is the dilemma?
- Weather to curtain inflation or curtail growth/employment?
- As stated by the Phillips curve- explaining the inflation unemployment trade off:
- The Phillips curve states that inflation and unemployment have an inverse relationship. Higher inflation is associated with lower unemployment and vice versa. As a result, high levels of employment can only be obtained when inflation is high.
- Curtailing inflation involves raising the rate of interest which makes borrowing expensive thus, reduces investment, output and employment.
How Depreciation leads imported inflation?
- When the general price level rises in a country due to the rise in prices of imported commodities, inflation is termed imported inflation.
- Inflation may also rise due to depreciation of the domestic currency, which pushes up the landed rupee cost of imported items.
- For example, if the rupee depreciates by 20% against the US dollar in a particular period, the landed rupee cost of an imported product will also go up by the same proportion and will affect the price levels and inflation readings.
Depreciation of the Currency
- Depreciation of a country’s currency refers to a decrease in the value of that country’s currency with respect to one or more foreign reference currencies, typically in a floating exchange rate system.
- In a floating exchange rate system, market forces (based on demand and supply of a currency) determine the value of a currency.
- Example: $1 used to equal to Rs.60, now $1 is equal to Rs. 72, implying that the rupee has depreciated relative to the dollar i.e. it takes more rupees to purchase a dollar.
East Asian Crisis 1997
- The crisis originated in Thailand following a stark devaluation of Thai baht,
- It began as a currency crisis when Bangkok unpegged the Thai baht from the U.S. dollar, setting off a series of currency devaluations and massive flights of capital.
- In the first six months, the value of the Indonesian rupiah was down by 80 percent, the Thai baht by more than 50 percent, the South Korean won by nearly 50 percent, and the Malaysian ringgit by 45 percent.
- Collectively, the economies most affected saw a drop in capital inflows of more than $100 billion in the first year of the crisis.
- Causes:
- Export-led growth in many East Asian economies- initiated through currency devaluation.
- Pegging of currency to the US Dollar.
- The 1995 reversal of Plaza Accord led to a rise in the rate of interest and appreciation of the US Dollar and consequently the East Asian currencies.
- Decline in corporate profits due to relative decline in exports and rate of interest causing capital flight.
- It was the result of overheating in the economy, stock market bubbles due to the “East Asian miracle”.
- All these led to a reversal of market sentiment, massive capital flight and bank-runs triggering a currency crisis
- The IMF stepped in to bail out South-East Asian economies, in lieu of reforms. Within a few years, these economies restored growth to pre-crisis levels, as the East Asian crisis was more of irrational self speculation by South-East Asia economies than major fundamental flaws in macroeconomic management.
2, High yielding currency and Currency carry trade
Subject: Economy
Section : External Sector
Context:
Goldman Sachs Group has warned high-yielding currencies such as the Indian rupee and Indonesian rupiah may reel amid deteriorating external finances and as the Fed tightening spurs risk-off sentiment.
Concept:
High yielding currency-High-yielding currencies are those country’s currencies where the rate is higher, thereby foreign investors earn quick profits.
Currency carry trade:
- Using the forex carry trade strategy, a trader aims to capture the benefits of risk-free profit making by using the difference in currency rates to make easy profits.
- In simple words, a currency carry trade is a strategy whereby a high-yielding currency funds the trade with a low-yielding currency.
The process:
- The first step in putting together a carry trade is to find out which currency offers a high yield and which one offers a low yield.
- A trader stands to make a profit of the difference in the interest rates of the two countries as long as the exchange rate between the currencies does not change.
- The funding currency is the currency that is exchanged in a currency carry trade transaction. A funding currency typically has a low interest rate. Investors borrow the funding currency and take short positions in the asset currency, which has a higher interest rate.
- As an example of a currency carry trade, assume that a trader notices that rates in Japan are 0.5 percent, while they are 4 percent in the United States. This means the trader expects to profit 3.5 percent, which is the difference between the two rates. The first step is to borrow yen and convert them into dollars. The second step is to invest those dollars into a security paying the U.S. rate.
Instances:
- The most popular carry trades have involved buying currency pairs like the Australian dollar/Japanese yen and New Zealand dollar/Japanese yen because the interest rate spreads of these currency pairs have been quite high.
- Historically, before the Lehman crisis, the USD-JPY carry trade was the most prominent trade where borrowing used to come from the Japanese market because of Bank of Japan’s accommodative monetary policy of low interest rate since the 1990s. The interest rate differential spread between the US and Japan prompted many traders to sell yen at low rates and buy dollars to earn the higher rates.
- Another instance where carry trade used to play out is in commodity-driven currencies. The Canadian dollar, which is very sensitive to oil prices and the yen, the low-yielding currency.
- Historically, falling commodity prices tend to eliminate yield differences between currencies. In such a scenario, reverse carry trades become profitable as oil prices fall and US interest rates start to rise. This will tend to push the currency exchange rates of the Canadian dollar lower.
Risk?
Inevitably, there are two risk factors involved in the forex carry trades, namely:
- The exchange rate risk- impacts a lot when there is a massive move in the exchange rate and this may lead to substantial loss in the base capital.
- The interest rate risk- it defines the profit yield of the carry trades positions, the wider the interest rate differential, the wider the opportunity.
Subject: Economy
Section :Fiscal Policy
Context:
Businesses with an annual turnover of more than ₹10 crore will soon be required to issue e-invoice.
Concept:
- The GST Council, in its 37th meeting on September 20, 2019, recommended the introduction of an electronic invoice in GST in a phased manner.
- E-invoicing started with those having an annual turnover of ₹500 crore, then it was brought down to ₹100 crore and to Rs 20 crore.
- E-invoicing prescribes a standardized format that can be read by a machine.
- It is a system in which B2B invoices are authenticated electronically by the Goods & Services Tax Network (GSTN) for further use on the common GST portal.
- Under the electronic invoicing system, an identification number is issued against every invoice by the invoice registration portal (IRP) managed by the GSTN.
- Invoices of businesses that do not comply with the mandatory e-invoicing are considered invalid. This means the input tax credit (ITC) cannot be claimed by the recipient; it can attract penalties, too.
- As on date, e-invoice is mandatory for businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 20 crore.
- With more than 300 accounting/billing software products, there is no way to have connectors for all. For example, an invoice generated by the SAP system cannot be read by a machine that is using the ‘Tally’ system, unless a connector is used.
- In this scenario, e-invoicing aims at machine-readability and uniform interpretation.
- To ensure this complete ‘interoperability’ of e-invoices across the GST ecosystem, an invoice standard is a must.
- By this, e-invoices generated by one software can be read by any other software,thereby eliminating the need for a fresh/manual data entry.
The Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN)
- It is a non-profit, non-government organization which manages the entire IT system of the GST portal.
- Private players own a 51% share in the GSTN, and the government owns the rest. The authorized capital of the GSTN is Rs 10 crore (US$1.6 million), of which 49% of the shares are divided equally between the Central and State governments, and the remaining is with private banks.
- Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has built an Indirect Taxation platform for GST to help taxpayers in India to prepare, file returns, make payments of indirect tax liabilities and do other compliances.
- It provides IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State Governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India.
- The GST System Project is a unique and complex IT initiative as it established for the first time a uniform interface for the taxpayer under indirect taxes through a common and shared IT infrastructure between the Centre and States.
- Mission
- Provide common and shared IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State Governments, Tax Payers and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST).
- Provide common Registration, Return and Payment services to the Tax payers.
- Partner with other agencies for creating an efficient and user-friendly GST Eco-system.
- Encourage and collaborate with GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) to roll out GST Applications for providing simplified services to the stakeholders.
- Carry out research, study best practises and provide Training and Consultancy to the Tax authorities and other stakeholders.
- Provide efficient Backend Services to the Tax Departments of the Central and State Governments on request.
- Develop Taxpayer Profiling Utility (TPU) for Central and State Tax Administration.
- Assist Tax authorities in improving Tax compliance and transparency of the Tax Administration system.
- Deliver any other services of relevance to the Central and State Governments and other stakeholders on request.
4. Is growing space tourism posing a risk to the climate?
Subject: Science
Section: Space
Context: The recent research states that rapidly growing space tourism industry “may undermine progress made by the Montreal Protocol in reversing ozone depletion.
Space Tourism:
- The space tourism allows lay people to travel to space for recreational, leisure or business purposes.
- The aim is to make space more accessible to those people who are not astronauts and want to travel to space for non-scientific reasons
- From $350 million in 2019, the industry is forecasted to grow to more than $1 trillion by 2040
Different space tourism venture:
- Virgin Galactic, the company founded by ace entrepreneur Richard Branson
- SpaceXInspiration4mission orbited Earth for three days aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship. It was the world’s first all-tourist flight to orbit
- Blue origin, New Shepard mission
Impact of Space Tourism on environment:
- The environmental damage caused by rockets is far greater, as they emit gaseous and solid chemicals directly into the upper atmosphere
- The space tourism’s current growth trends also indicate a potential for the depletion of the ozone layer above the Arctic
- The pollutants from rocket fuel and heating caused by spacecraft returning to Earth, along with the debris caused by the flights are especially harmful to the ozone layer
- The great concern is the black carbon (BC) soot that is emitted by rockets directly into the atmosphere
- These soot particles have a far larger impact on the climate than all other sources of soot combined, as BC particles are almost 500 times more efficient at retaining heat
- It undermines the Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol:
- It is an international treaty that was adopted in Montreal in 1987
- It was aimed at protecting the Earth’s ozone layer by regulating the production and consumption of nearly 100 chemicals called ozone-depleting substances (ODS)
- It is the only UN treaty ever that has been ratified every country on Earth – all 198 UN Member States.
- The Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol was established in 1991
- The Multilateral Fund’s activities are implemented by four international agencies – UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the World Bank
- Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are gases used worldwide in refrigeration, air-conditioning and foam applications, but they are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol since deplete the ozone layer.
- Developed countries have been reducing their consumption of HCFCs and will completely phase them out by 2020. Developing countries agreed to complete phase-out of HCFCs by 2030
- Phase down of HFCs – the Kigali Amendment
- Another group of substances, hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), were introduced as non-ozone depleting alternatives to support the timely phase out of CFCs and HCFCs
- HFCs are now widespread in air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosols, foams and other products
- The Parties to the Montreal Protocol reached agreement on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda to phase-down HFCs
5. India’s patent law safeguards under fire
Subject :Science and Technology
Section: Intellectual property
Context: PMEAC has recommended to reduce the period within which patent applications can be challenged to six months.
What is a Patent?
A Patent is a statutory right for an invention granted for a limited period of time to the patentee by the Government, in exchange of full disclosure of his invention for excluding others, from making, using, selling, importing the patented product or process for producing that product for those purposes without his consent
What is the term of a patent in the Indian system?
The term of every patent granted is 20 years from the date of filing of application
Which Act governs the patent system in India?
The patent system in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 and the Patents Rules, 2003. The Patent Rules are regularly amended in consonance with the changing environment, most recent being in 2016
Does Indian Patent give protection worldwide?
Patent protection is a territorial right and therefore it is effective only within the territory of India. There is no concept of global patent.
An invention is patentable subject matter if it meets the following criteria:
- It should be novel.
- It should have inventive step or it must be non-obvious
- It should be capable of Industrial application.
- It should not attract the provisions of section 3 and 4 of the Patents Act 1970.
What Does Patent Evergreening Mean?
- It refers to the continuing extension of patent rights. It also refers to the process of obtaining many patents for the same item.
- Patents that are evergreened are typical in pharmaceutical patents.
What is Sec 3(d)
- Section 3(d) was inserted in Indian law in 1970, but in its present form, it was introduced only in the year 2005.
- Section 3(d), as introduced in April 2005 into the Indian patent law, represents a unique requirement to be fulfilled for patentability of certain types of pharmaceutical inventions. According to Section 3(d), in order for a new form of a known substance to be patentable, it must show an enhanced efficacy with respect to the known efficacy of the substance concerned.
How does Sec 3(d) prevent evergreening of patents
Section 3(d) says that certain subject matters are not considered inventions and that the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance can only be regarded as an invention if the new form results in an enhancement in the known efficacy of that substance.
Novartis’s Glivec patent Case :
- The Supreme Court provided a clarification on certain aspects of Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970; in effect, it further raises the bar on the test of inventiveness and criteria for patentability.
- It found that Novartis’ patent application for the beta-crystalline form of Imatinib Mesylate (polymorph B) did not pass the test of Section 3(d) as it did not show any enhanced ‘therapeutic efficacy’.
- It held that in the case of a medicine that claims to cure a disease, the test of efficacy can only be ‘therapeutic efficacy’, and that the physico-chemical properties, namely, more beneficial flow properties, better thermodynamic stability, and lower hygroscopicity, which may otherwise be beneficial, do not render the product therapeutically more efficacious.
- As a result, the Supreme Court interpreted ‘enhanced efficacy’ in the explanation to Section 3(d) to mean therapeutic efficacy alon
- The Supreme Court provides a clarification on certain aspects of Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970; in effect, it further raises the bar on the test of inventiveness and criteria for patentability.
- It found that Novartis’ patent application for the beta-crystalline form of Imatinib Mesylate (polymorph B) did not pass the test of Section 3(d) as it did not show any enhanced ‘therapeutic efficacy’.
- It held that in the case of a medicine that claims to cure a disease, the test of efficacy can only be ‘therapeutic efficacy’, and that the physico-chemical properties, namely, more beneficial flow properties, better thermodynamic stability, and lower hygroscopicity, which may otherwise be beneficial, do not render the product therapeutically more efficacious.
- As a result, the Supreme Court interpreted ‘enhanced efficacy’ in the explanation to Section 3(d) to mean therapeutic efficacy alone.
Is Sec 3(d) compliant with TRIPS?
- TRIPS Article 27.1 requires that “patents shall be available for any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology, provided that they are new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.”
- The patentability criteria of Section 3(d) are in addition to the internationally accepted criteria of novelty, inventive step and utility.
- The Supreme Court in the Novartis case concludes that the Act does set the invention threshold higher for medicines, drugs and other chemical substances. However, the Madras High Court had in 2007 held that the appropriate route to challenge non-compliance with TRIPS is the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and not the Indian courts.
What is an opposition proceeding?
- It refers to the administrative procedure available in most jurisdictions that enable third parties to formally challenge the granted patent or the pending application for a patent.
- An opponent must allege at least one of the grounds for opposition among those that are prescribed in the applicable law
- The Indian Patent Act, 1970 provides a mechanism that allows the public to raise objections against the grant of a patent by filing an opposition with the Patent office
- Pre-grant opposition: Where the opponent can challenge a pending application prior to the grant of a patent.
- Post-grant opposition: Where the opponent challenges the validity of a patent that has already been granted.
- Before 2005, only the ‘pre’ grant opposition system prevailed and there was no way of challenging a patent once it had been granted.
- However, the Indian patent system underwent a significant transformation on 1st January 2005 in pursuance of the TRIPS agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights)
- In order to comply with the International agreement, India amended its Patent Act and a post-grant opposition system was introduced in Section 25 of the Act.
- Recently, the new recommendation reduces the period within which patent applications can be challenged to six months.
- Decisions made by Indian patent offices can negatively impact generic competition and supply worldwide
Indian Patent Office
- It is an agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade which administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
- The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP)
- It plays a central role in facilitating trade in knowledge and creativity, in resolving trade disputes over IP, and in assuring WTO members the latitude to achieve their domestic policy objectives.
- It frames the IP system in terms of innovation, technology transfer and public welfare.
6. Dimming the glow of firefly festivals in Maharashtra
Subject: Environment
Section: Pollution
Context: Each year, before the monsoons in Maharashtra, tourists gather in forests at night, to witness the fascinating illumination of fireflies that light up for mating.
Environmentalists have opposed such festivals, citing harm to fireflies during the mating season and disruption of the habitat.
What are fireflies?
- It belongs to the family Lampyridae
- Fireflies use their bioluminescence, a chemical reaction that produces light, for mating communication
- Adults of one or both sexes (depending on species) emit specific flash patterns which are received by the other sex
- Low light is needed for reproduction
- Fireflies are found in temperate and tropical regions in wetlands and marshes near wooded areas
- Firefly adults are short-lived, with life spans ranging from a week to a few months.
Role of Fireflies in an ecosystem:
- An ecosystem is made up of interconnected parts. Each link in the chain depends on the other, and the loss of each species weakens the links.
- Firefly larvae feed on snails, slugs, mites, and earthworms, keeping their population in check
- An excess of these invertebrates, damages vegetation growth. This affects the wildlife that feeds on that vegetation
- Fireflies, like other species, maintain a delicate balance in the ecosystem.
- Fireflies’ luminescent genes have several applications in medicine, food safety testing, and forensics
Issues regarding conservation:
Illegal night jungle safari and organizing a festival at night would harm the mating season and ultimately end up with the loss of endangered species like fireflies
Other reasons like the usage of flashlights, torchlights and vehicle lights that lead to light pollution and interfere with the natural mating process
The loss of habitat, vegetation, use of pesticides, light pollution and climate change are already harming the fireflies
Subject :Environment
Section: Biodiversity
Context: Pakistani officials have requested the transfer of hundreds of gharial crocodiles from Nepal in an effort to reintroduce a species last seen in Pakistan in 1985.
- The species is virtually extinct from countries other than Nepal and India, where it occurs in the Ganges River and its tributaries.
- Pakistan is aiming for the return of an apex predator not seen in the country in nearly four decades: the gharial crocodile it will also become a basis for wildlife tourism that could provide a source of income for local communities
About Gharial:
- Apex predators such as gharials ensure ecological balance
- Indicator Species: Population of Gharials is a good indicator of clean river water.
Location:
- The Chambal river in the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains (Madhya Pradesh) is known as the primary habitat of gharials.
- Other himalayan rivers like Ghagra, Gandak river, Girwa river, Ramganga river
- Nara Canal, a channel of the Indus,DehAkro I and II wetland complexes situated in Pakistan
- Threats: Illegal sand mining, poaching, increased river pollution, dam construction, massive-scale fishing operations and Floods.
Other crocodile species
- Mugger – IUCN status- Vulnerable
- Salt water crocodile – IUCN status- Least Concern
- All types of crocodile under
- CITES: Appendix I
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
Subject :Environment
Section: Climate change
Context: The second United Nations Oceans Conference took place in Lisbon, focusing on the protection of life under water, as dictated by U.N. Sustainable Development Goal No. 14 which aims to protect life below water.
- Lisbon Declaration is a suite of science-based and innovative actions, taking into account the capacity challenges facing developing countries, in particular, Small Island Developing States and Least Developing Countries, at the frontline of the devastating impacts of the ocean emergency
- Conference has been co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya
- More than 100 nations pledged to protect 30% of their oceans by 2030 by joining the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People. There were announcements about new and expanded marine protected areas (MPAs), including in Colombia, Guatemala, Portugal, Uruguay and more
- Goal of protecting 30% of the world’s land and sea area by the decade’s end is also a target under the N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) under 30 by 30 target.
- Participants formed several new alliances at the UNOC, including an alliance of nations calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, A coalition of NGOs unveiled a new atlas to track illegal trawling in protected regions of the Mediterranean.
- Norway announced it would become the first European country to share its vessel-tracking data with Global Fishing Watch, a website launched in September 2016 by Google in partnership with Oceana and SkyTruth “to provide the world’s first global view of commercial fishing activities.”
The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People
- It is an intergovernmental group of more than 100 countries co-chaired by Costa Rica and France and by the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair, championing a global deal for nature and people with the central goal of protecting at least 30 percent of world’s land and ocean by 2030.
- The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People was officially launched in January 2021 at the One Planet Summit on biodiversity, led by Costa Rica and France at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) pre-COP25 in San José in 2019. The coalition is currently co-chaired by Costa Rica, France, and the United Kingdom as ocean co-chair.
30×30 target
- It is a global target which aims to halt the accelerating loss of species, and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security.is a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth’s land and oceanarea as protected areas by 2030.
- The target was proposed by a 2019 article in Science Advances“A Global Deal for Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets”, highlighting the need for expanded nature conservation efforts to mitigate climate change.Launched by the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People in 2020, more than 50 nations had agreed to the initiative by January 2021, which increased to more than 95 countries by June 2022. 30 by 30 was promoted at the COP15 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity.This includes the G7and European Union.
- $5b funding called the “Protecting Our Planet Challenge” was announced for the initiative in September 2021.
- The initiative has attracted controversy over indigenous rightsissues
The Marine Protection Atlas (MPAtlas)
- is building a comprehensive global database of marine protection to identify, monitor, and advocate for fully and highly protected areas. It supports international progress toward effective marine conservation by integrating the latest available data on marine protected areas with science-based assessments that determine their stage of establishment and level of protection.
- MPAtlas combines self-reported data submitted by countries to the official World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) with standardized, science-based assessments that categorize MPA zones in terms of expected outcomes and conservation benefits.
- Blue Parks* aim to unite a global ocean refuge system of effective MPAs that covers 30% of the ocean to safeguard marine biodiversity.
- Reports published SeaStates2021
Why 2022 is important for Ocean?
2022 has also become a super year for the ocean with a number of key breakthroughs with the Ocean Conference introducing a new chapter on ocean action. The UN Environment Assembly in March consensually agreed to begin negotiations for a binding global treaty to end plastic pollution. While last month, the World Trade Organization succeeded in reaching general consensus on banning harmful fisheries subsidies. This year’s Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction could also lead to strengthening governance of the high seas. Later this year, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15)is an opportunity to achieve a new target to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s lands and seas by 2030. UNFCCC COP 27, to take place in November, will see a focus on climate adaptation measures and financing required to build ocean resilience.
Subject: Polity
Section: National organization
Context: NIA takes over Udaipur case
Concept:
- NIA was constituted under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 as the aftermath of the Mumbai Terror attack of 2008.The agency came into existence on December 31, 2008, and started its functioning in 2009. Till date, the NIA has registered 447 cases
- The National Investigation Agency (NIA) acts as the Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. The agency is authorised to investigate any terror-related matter across the country without special permission of the states.
- It is a central agency mandated to investigate all the offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states, and the offences under the statutory laws enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations. These include terror acts and their possible links with crimes like smuggling of arms, drugs and fake Indian currency and infiltration from across the borders
- Headquartered in Delhi, the NIA has its branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna
What are the scheduled offences?
The list includes the Explosive Substances Act, Atomic Energy Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Anti-Hijacking Act, Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, SAARC Convention (Suppression of Terrorism) Act, Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and the Information Technology Act. In September 2020, the Centre empowered the NIA to also probe offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act that are connected to terror case.
The various features or provisions of the NIA (Amendment) ACT, 2019 are as follows:
- It applied the provisions of the NIA Act also to persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against Indian citizens or affecting the interest of India.
- It provided that the officers of the NIA shall have the similar powers, duties, privies and liabilities being exercised by the police officers in connection with the investigation of offences, not only in India but also outside India.
- It empowered the central government, with respect to a scheduled offence committed outside India, to direct the NIA to register the case and take up investigation as if such offence had taken place in India.
- It provided that the central government and the state governments may designate Sessions Courts as Special Courts for conducting the trial of offences under the NIA Act.
- The NIA was empowered to probe cases of cyber terrorism under the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Act, passed by Parliament in July 2019.
Jurisdiction of NIA
The law under which the agency operates extends to the whole of India and also applies to Indian citizens outside the country; persons in the service of the government wherever they are posted; persons on ships and aircraft registered in India wherever they may be; persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against the Indian citizen or affecting the interest of India.
- It inserted certain new offences in the Schedule of the NIA Act. Consequently, the NIA is also empowered to probe the offences relating to
- human trafficking,
- counterfeit currency or bank notes,
- manufacture or sale of prohibited arms,
- cyber-terrorism and
- Explosive substances.
How does the NIA take up a probe?
As provided under Section 6 of the Act, State governments can refer the cases pertaining to the scheduled offences registered at any police station to the Central government (Union Home Ministry)for NIA investigation. After assessing the details made available, the Centre can then direct the agency to take over the case. State governments are required to extend all assistance to the NIA. Even when the Central government is of the opinion that a scheduled offence has been committed which is required to be investigated under the Act, it may, suo motu, direct the agency to take up/over the probe. Where the Central government finds that a scheduled offence has been committed at any place outside India to which this Act extends, it can also direct the NIA to register the case and take up investigation. While investigating any scheduled offence, the agency can also investigate any other offence which the accused is alleged to have committed if the offence is connected to the scheduled offence
10. Ministry of Home Affairs effected changes in FCRA
Subject: Polity
Context: Ministry of Home Affairs effected changes in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
More about Changes:
- Political parties, legislature members, election candidates, judges, government servants, journalists and media houses among others all barred from receiving foreign contribution will no longer be prosecuted if they receive foreign contribution from relatives abroad and fail to intimate the government within 90 days.
- The amended rule makes this a compoundable offence, and the recipient will be required to pay 5% of the foreign contribution received – earlier, such an offence would entail prosecution in a court of law.
- The new notifications have increased the number of compoundable offences under the Act from 7 to 12 and this is one of them.
- Exemption from intimation to the government for contributions less than Rs 10 lakh – the earlier limit was Rs 1 lakh — received from relatives abroad, and increase in time limit for intimation of opening of bank accounts.
- Requires NGOs to intimate the Ministry within 15 days whenever there is change in an NGO’s bank account, name, address, aims, objectives or key members, the deadline has now been increased to 45 days.
- Amendments have been brought to ensure applications for revision of an order passed by the “competent authority” can be made to the Home Secretary in electronic form as well. Earlier it had to be made on plain paper.
Further details about earlier Amendment: https://optimizeias.com/foreign-contribution-to-ngos/
11. Why India should support antibiotics development
Subject: Science
Context:
Recent report by Global Research on Anti-Microbial resistance (GRAM) on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
Data on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
- According to the report by GRAM, about 49.5 lakh people suffered from a minimum of one drug-resistant infection and AMR was directly linked to 12.7 lakh deaths in 2019.
- AMR is one of the major public health challenges in India which account for nearly 30% of deaths due to neonatal sepsis across India.
- Most of these deaths are due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) hospital-acquired infections
- Further, about 30% of the COVID-19 deaths in India can be attributed to the failure to treat the secondary bacterial infections caused by MDR pathogens with the appropriate antibiotics.
Cause of Anti-microbial resistance
- In the presence of an antimicrobial, microbes are either killed or, if they carry resistance genes, survive. These survivors will replicate, and their progeny will quickly become the dominant type throughout the microbial population.
- During replication, mutations arise and some of these mutations may help an individual microbe survive exposure to an antimicrobial.
- Bacteria that have drug-resistant DNA may transfer a copy of these genes to other bacteria. Microbes also may get genes from each other, including genes that make the microbe drug resistant. Bacteria multiply by the billions.
- More often, healthcare providers must use incomplete or imperfect information to diagnose an infection and thus prescribe an antimicrobial just-in-case or prescribe a broad-spectrum antimicrobial when a specific antibiotic might be better.
- The extensive use of antimicrobials and close contact among sick patients creates a fertile environment for the spread of antimicrobial-resistant germs.
- The practice of adding antibiotics to agricultural feed promotes drug resistance.
Tackle the AMR crisis
- strong funding in studies and improvement of latest
- fast and less expensive
- strengthening contamination manipulate and prevention practices.
- formulating and imposing antibiotic stewardship programmes throughout the country and making sure equitable get entry to life-saving antibiotics.
Recommendations
Antibiotic improvement has been impacted because of a loss of investments and the go out of huge pharma corporations from the AMR area due to the low go back on investment.
Further, the compensation provisions in numerousnations have discouraged hospitals from the usage of a high priced complete antibacterial agent as less expensive standard alternatives are available.
There is a pressing want to opposite this fashion and introduce a sustainable improvement version that facilitates in addressing the AMR disaster with inside the lengthy run.
Push-Pull model
Where “push” incentives decrease the price to expanda brand-new antibacterial drug and the “pull” incentives praise most effective a hit result. Small pharma corporations being furnished with early-level investment from public-non-public partnerships is an instance of the frenzy version.
The pull issue refers to offering authorities contracts to corporations that expand important antibiotics for drug-resistant infections.
Further, an AMR Action Fund may be created that may be used to cope with the demanding situations with inside the improvement of latest antibiotics and increase their improvement.
Subject: History
Section: Personality
Context: Prime Minister NarendraModi unveils a 30-ftbronze statue of Alluri SitaramaRaju in Bhimavaram
(Andhra Pradesh)
- He remains an idol for the tribesmen of Andhra Pradesh. He united various tribes, taught them guerrilla warfare and trained them to fight back with the colonial power.
- He was one of the bravest revolutionaries and freedom fighters.
- Alluri Seetarama initiated the famous “Rampa Rebellion” or Manyam Rebellion in 1922-1924.
- During the period of two years, he fought multiple times with the British troops, always winning against them.
- This gave him the title of “ManyamVeerudu” or the “Hero of Jungle”.
- Causes Of Rampa Rebellion
- Firstly, the British rule threatened podu cultivation, a type of shifting cultivation where trees and plants are cleared off a patch of land by burning them, and the ashes were mixed with soil as manure to cultivate new crops. This got banned by the government as they secured forest land for their own use, calling it ‘reserved forest’.
- Secondly, the collection of minor forest produce, such as leaves and roots, got banned under the Forest Act of 1882. Tribal people were also forced into labour for the colonial government. While they were subjected to exploitation at the hands of the muttadars, the British laws and system threatened their way of life itself.
- In the year 1986, the Indian Postal Department issued a stamp on his behalf, featuring his struggle for Independence.
13. Anthrax- the infectious disease found in Kerala
Subject: Science
- Anthrax, also known as malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease, is a rare but serious disease caused by the rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
- It occurs naturally in soil and, according to the WHO it is primarily a disease of herbivores, with both domestic and wild animals being affected by it.
- usually been animals found in India’s southern states and according to the WHO, Anthrax is generally regarded as non-contagious and instances of person-to-person transmission are extremely rare
- Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it is naturally transmissible from animals (usually vertebrae) to humans.
- People can get the disease through contact with infected animals or animal products that are contaminated with bacteria.
- Flies also appear to play a significant role in explosive outbreaks of the disease, as per the WHO.
- Herbivorous animals can get the disease through contaminated soil and feed, while omnivorous and carnivorous animals get infected through contaminated meat, bones and other feeds.
- Wild animals get sick through feeding on anthrax-infected carcasses.
- People get infected with anthrax when spores enter the body, through breathing, eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water, or through cuts or scrapes in the skin.
Symptoms
- In livestock species, like cattle, sheep or goats, the first sign is usually the sudden death of one or two animals within the herd. Prior to their death, they might show signs of high fever. In wildlife, sudden death is also a usual indicator, often accompanied by bloody discharge from natural orifices (mouth, nose, ear, anus), bloating, incomplete rigour mortis and the absence of clotting of the blood, according to WHO.
- In humans, cutaneous anthrax symptoms can include groups of small blisters that may itch, painless skin sores with a black centre, with the possibility of swelling around them. This is the most common route of the disease and is seldom fatal.
- Inhalation anthrax includes fever and chills, shortness of breath, coughing and nausea to name a few. It’s the most deadly form of the disease and can lead to death within 2-3 days. Lastly, gastrointestinal anthrax symptoms can include nausea and vomiting (with blood), swelling of the neck, stomach pain and diarrhoea.
- People that are most at risk of contracting the disease are people that work with animals, such as farmers, veterinarians, livestock handlers, wool sorters and laboratory professionals
Treatment
- Antibiotic therapy that is administered early in the course of the infection has been proven to be responsive, according to the WHO. Penicillin has long been the antibiotic of choice and in recent years, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline have also been used as alternatives.
- One way to prevent the disease is by vaccination of livestock so that the disease cannot spread.
- There are also vaccines for humans, but their availability is usually restricted to at-risk individuals, such as lab workers and people who handle animals.
Subject: Science
The fossils of our earlier human ancestors, located in a cave in South Africa, are a million years older than previously understood according to a new study
- Australopithecus, meaning “southern ape”, was a group of hominins or now-extinct early humans, that was closely related to and almost certainly the ancestors of modern humans.
- Our early ancestors were bipedal in nature and travelled on the ground (but used trees for food and protection), had large teeth with thick enamel caps for chewing, and their brains were only slightly larger than apes. The facial and dental features suggest that they were able to consume tough foods, such as nuts, seeds, tubers and roots.
- Sterkfontein caves
- The “Cradle of Humankind” is a 47,000-hectare paleoanthropological site, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.It contains a complex system of limestone caves, where a significant number of hominin fossils have been found.
- These include, “MrsPles”, the popular name for the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus ever to be found in South Africa, and “Little Foot”, a nearly complete Australopithecus skeleton.
- By dating the Australopithecus africanus found in the Sterkfontein caves to 3.4 to 3.7 million years ago, these hominins would be even older than the famed Lucy (also known as Dinkinesh), the most famous ancestor of modern humans, of the Australopithecus afarensis species.
- Means that human evolution did not follow a simple line that emerged from one species alone. Instead, our ancestry is “more like a bush,”